Analyzing the Local Epidemiological Profile of Malaria Transmission in the Brazilian Amazon Between 2010 and 2015

CONCLUSION Notwithstanding the little attention given recently to malaria epidemiology, to understand the local epidemiology in population, time and space in a greatly heterogeneous territory is of vital importance for malaria prevention, control and elimination in the region of the Americas. The use of malaria stratification is a relevant tool and should be used as a key strategy to plan malaria programs more efficiently and effectively. These plans are set at the national level but with the flexibility to lower levels to articulate interventions based on their needs. Therefore, this study adds a value when assessing the whole area but stratifies by municipality allowing to see the importance of the local interventions in different epidemiological settings. Through spatiotemporal analysis, the study corroborates the approach that implementing any intervention in malaria should be stratified in time to interpret the latest tendencies and in space to understand the local dynamics of the disease. Geographic Information Systems and analytical mapping should be used as tools to help plan interventions with more accuracy. Brazil has achieved remarkable advances, but more sustained efforts at all levels are necessary to contain malaria resurgence. There are examples of successful interventions in the Amazon region that should be taken into account for future national policies. These interventions have helped several municipalities and states to stabilize the impact of the seasonali...
Source: PLOS Currents Outbreaks - Category: Epidemiology Authors: Source Type: research